Ethereal
The Ethereal Alternative Names- The Mystic Dimension, Hyper-Space, Purple Space, The Echo Known Connected Realms- Emma-Hoo (Realm of the Oni), City of the Emotionals, Dream-Time, How the Ethereal Works The Ethereal is a dimension which overlaps the corporeal universe; within the multiverse, each corporeal dimension usually has its own Ethereal, and those that do not, are considerably altered as a result. The Ethereal is often known as 'The Mystic Dimension' by those that do not understand its true nature, but know of its existance, because this is where a lot of (but not all) creatures that could be seen as 'monsters' or creatures of magic come from, as well as where many draw magic from. Many aliens simply term it 'hyper-space', as it is used as a transit between planets, whilst 'Purple Space' is a slang term that was begun by the 'founder' of the Salvage Squad, Scraps. The true form of the Ethereal is as a realm of thought and ideas; anything that those in the corporeal world believe strongly enough can exist, can indeed do so in the Ethereal, though they do not all always enter the physical world. The reason for the dimension's mystic associations stem from the fact that many who believe themselves to be mages or spellcasters of some kind can perform spells or similar miracles due to a subconscious connection to the Ethereal, a place where extraordinary imagination equals manipulation, therefore what people would consider 'magic' (though the Ethereal is not the only source of what can be interpreted as magic, though it is the most commonly used.) The Ethereal is a place where those from the corporeal can visit, and vice versa. Time and space have no true relations in the Ethereal, and so nothing there is supposed to age, and no-one who visits does either, for no time frame has truly passed for them, even if they feel as if they have been there for years. Those who leave the Ethereal (collectively can be referred to as Ethereals, though the specific species there are are practically endless in number, and in the many alternate dimensions of the multiverse, there are a lot of other collective titles for Ethereal beings) usually maintain their immortality, as they though they possess physical bodies, as conceptions of ideas, time still cannot affect them in either realm, though many physical effects still can affect them, especially if they have been on Earth for a long time. Most Ethereals cannot reach the corporeal world without some form of aid, be it open two-ways portal such as The Rip (see below) or The Tear, or being summoned from the corporeal realm by those skilled in conjuration magic (or rather, the ability to bring parts of the Ethereal, including beings, into the corporeal world.) There are few beings which possess sufficient willpower to move themselves between the dimensions independently (such as the being often known as Bast ), except in times where the barriers between dimensions are weakened (such as the early 2000s period known as the Armageddon Crisis, where reality was seemingly falling apart due to various alterations in causality occurring at once.) The sky in the Ethereal is purple, and there is always light and shadow, even though there appears to be no Sun. It is possible that there is only Ethereal equivalents of locations where there are thoughts present to create them (so though there may be Ethereal existence on other planets, it would only be those occupied or once occupied by sentient beings.) The Ethereal often exists in analogue to the corporeal world, so where there are corporeal cities, they exist in the Ethereal, but they are often in altered form; long existing corporeal structures tend to exist in the Ethereal in some form, but more fleeting structures and objects do not generally reflect in this manner. Ethereals with sufficient (will)power can alter the Ethereal's composition, and humans with magical ability or those with particularly strong creative minds could also do so. As a result, there are places within the Ethereal that do not correspond to the real world at all, and places that may be altered sub-consiously by the presence in the corporeal of particularly strong creative minds. There is the potential for endless realms within the greater realm of the Ethereal, though it has been little explored (in documentation.) The History of the Ethereal ''' Though the Ethereal overlaps the corporeal world, and is influenced and altered by the thoughts that go on within it, the two were not seemingly designed to co-exist directly. However, the being known as Angus McMillan's existence was responsible for damaging the Ethereal and creating a more direct bleed between the Ethereal and Universe 1.Angus was born to a human celtic druid in mankind's early history, but his mother was an Ethereal in a human form. This was a fusion, that when Angus was born, caused a massive disruption upon reality. Due to being of both worlds, Angus's birth punched a hole between the two worlds, known as '''The Rip. The Rip allowed any corporeals or Ethereals approaching the large swirling portal to freely pass between the worlds. The only negative effect this had on the corporeal was a massive increase in the Ethereals able to enter the world, not all being benevolent. The Ethereal was damaged more severely but also more subtly; the constant bleeding of the corporeal world into the Ethereal began to oppose the rules of the physical universe on the place. Areas under constant change started to become more ordered and permanent alterations were applied, but most significantly, in a realm of no life and death (often why many Ethereals found ways to cross over to truly live), immortals began to die. Angus was completely immortal, he would even return from death, because his body drew on the stolen energies of the Ethereal drawn from the Rip, accidentally and by his own nature taking the life force of the dwellers from the other dimension in order to maintain his dual corporeal/Ethereal existance. Eventually, Chiyo, one of Angus's allies in the Infinity Society, chose to save him and the Ethereal by throwing him back through the Rip, which closed the Rip behind him. Before Angus's 'death' he had established a sect of druids to guard to the Rip, which existed for over 1000 years before the sect fell apart after Angus's death and the Rip closing. However, the Rip exists in the modern world until the mid-90s, except not at the foot of Ben Nevis where it began, but elsewhere in the Scottish wilderness. The base of the 90s Team Titan squad Team Tartan was set up outside this new Rip, to protect it from the monsters that tended to pour forth. Optech, the team member corrupted by nanites he took from Blitzkrieg to improve himself, created a device to make the Rip larger, to release an army of creatures, under his control. Optech was stopped by his old friend CABER, who used his energy absorptions powers to absorb the dimensional energies and close this 'new' Rip. Something similar to the The Rip, but on a much larger scale, was created between the Ethereal and the Royal Guardsmen Universe, known as The Tear. This connects to the deepest parts of the Ethereal, known in Australia as The Dream-Time, but with many other titles. Corporeal/Ethereal hybrids Angus McMillan- his link with the Ethereal and corporeal world allowed him to manipulate elements of nature and energy to his will, as well sustaining immortality from the energies given off by the Rip. Felix McMillan - not a native Ethereal, born on the corporeal, the uncle of Angus has lived so long in the Ethereal that he has essentially become one. His powers are unknown, though he was able to completely dispel a lightning bolt hurled at him by Marcus Wetherman. Nathaniel Rook- born corporeal, but made undying and superhumanly strength by the birthing of powers by both the Dark Magician and Myth (making him technically quarter Ethereal, as the powers given by Dark Magician are extra-dimensional, but not Ethereal.) He is skilled in the use of magic. Marcus Wetherman/Quetzalcoatl - Marcus was born on the corporeal, with white skin, blonde hair and blue eyes, despite being born of Aztec people. Their belief in him was so great, as Quetzalcoatl, that his body became altered by the combination of the energies given off by the Rip and concentrated belief affecting the Ethereal, that he received the powers they believed he had. Technically a full corporeal man, half Ethereal only by technicality. Xenomoth- a man born corporeal, but bonded with a now nameless and virtually powerless pantheon of Ethereal gods (see below) that bond with him to remain alive. After gaining the ability to turn into the pantheon's avatars (to begin, a swarm of moths, a moth for each god) he joins Team Titan. Horde- as a daughter of Xenomoth, she is only technically a quarter Ethereal, with the ability to turn into groups of animals, she maintains a vestige of her father's 'pantheon form.' She becomes a member of Planet Titan. Knack- the only documented corporeal/Ethereal hybrid to be Ethereal first, then corporeal through corporeal exposure, in this case, bonding with the Olympian liquid that maintains their powers, Ambrosia. Hybrid- technically the second documented corporeal/Ethereal hybrid from 'birth' after Angus McMillan, a combination of dinosaur DNA and the wood of Myth's mask, therefore combining the body with Ethereal energies. Known Ethereals Motrax - initially a hostile dragon created in times where people believed strongly in such things, but when the first hero to oppose him was the Magician, who rather than seeking to kill him, provided another opportunity, the cosmic being's belief that Motrax could change enabled him to do. As a result, he is one of the world's longest living heroes until he dies in the 90s. Motrax was never capable of passing back into the Ethereal, he was one of the first to come through the original Rip. The Oni- demons from Chinese and Japanese mythology that constantly plague the world due to a continual belief in them. Mad Maud/Feline/Bast - a being of many names because she is really none of the things she claims to be, the conception of the idea of cat, in human form, Bast is as flighty and as lacking in true loyalty as her nature forces her to be. One of few beings who can travel between the two worlds, but only after being enhanced by Mittens (the Dark Magician, trapped in the form of a cat, after being punished by the Overseers. Karndazak- otherwise known as the Lord of Dragons, in present times brought into the real world courtesy of an initial alliance with the dinosaur villain Cut-throat Cain. Wee Free Man/Spring Heeled Jock - a benevolent pixie who appeared through the second Rip and joined Team Titan. The Avatars- an unnamed pantheon of beings encountered in the Amazon rainforest, mostly lost in names and power (and thus likely the Ethereal remains of belief in various different but similar gods for thousands of years in that region) that bond with the man that became Xenomoth. Shamrock O'Shae- a rather skewed version of the leprechaun myth who manifested in modern times and so has many modern values and close to human form. She has never travelled directly into the Ethereal, but has a teleportation power that allows her to reach different locations in the corporeal by bypassing the Ethereal.